Hope Hicks is testifying this afternoon as a prosecution witness, but she has been loyal to her former boss, Trump, and her words may go a long way in assisting him.
Trump has maintained, among other things, that he did not want the extramarital sex claims buried so that he could protect his family, contrary to what the prosecution claims. Hicks made multiple remarks that appeared to bolster the defense story in his brief time on the witness stand.
According to her, Trump was most worried about the impact on Melania Trump caused by the Wall Street Journal’s article about Karen McDougal. According to Hicks, Trump was “concerned about how his wife would perceive it,” and he specifically requested that she cancel the morning newspaper delivery to their house.
Hicks went on to say that she didn’t think he cared much about how the article would affect his bid for the presidency. After the Access Hollywood audio surfaced, prosecutors said that Trump had political motives to cover up more unsavory details about his relationships with women.
If Trump had asked Hicks about the impact of the McDougal report on the campaign, she said she couldn’t remember. She confessed that he frequently inquired about the status of things and stated, “I don’t want to speculate, but I’m almost certain he would have asked me how’s it playing.”